Happy Poetry Friday, today hosted by Buffy Silverman Here. I know Buffy loves wildlife, so maybe she and others will enjoy seeing a snapshot of the fox that often wanders through our yard. Today, he posed with his dinner, as if unsure what to do, then shortly after the photo was taken, grabbed his fresh catch and ran off. I love the shape and color of this lovely creature, but always stay away when he appears.
CAGEY RED FOX
passing through
it seems you can tell
I am spying on you.
Hunting for dinner
is what foxes do,
And that unlucky squirrel
looked scrumptious to you.
©Janice Scully 2021
I love middle grade humor and one of the funniest books I know is Roald Dahl’s THE FANTASTIC MR. FOX. I’ve written about humor previously, a topic close to my heart. I’m sure many of the teachers post on Poetry Friday or stop by, and their students are fans of Roald Dahl. I think that perhaps the author might have seen a creature like the one above with a similar face and whimsical tail, and was inspired to write this story.
The main character, Mr. Fox, is endlessly clever and determined to steal food. The antagonists, three greedy farmers, are equally as clever as well as mean, and are determined to keep him away from their farms. The conflict makes for a great deal of humor.
I hope everyone is enjoying summer, are well and getting some fresh air.
Janice, the red fox looks so elegant with his puffy fur tail but his catch did not fare so well. Your poem connects the dots on this short tail with the title cagey red fox. I have had something sneaking in my gardens to enjoy my beautiful flowers and then I saw a culprit-a very large jackrabbit pounced on by. He must have had lots of fun running from house to house trying out the tidbits.
I LOVE how much character is in that fox in your poem…it knows the speaker is spying and keeps on being … a fox! Great repetition and voice in this.
Janice, I love the poem and its rhyme and meter are very pleasant. Nice for reading aloud. I love the description of the fox as cagey. The fox in your photo does look like Fantastic Mr. Fox.
You captured the curiosity and challenge in his expression perfectly with your lines “it seems you can tell/I am spying on you.”
Thanks for sharing this today!
I love that you have a fox visitor and how wonderfully you wrote to him! It’s rare to see one now, here. I’m told they moved on when the coyotes moved in. Love that ending, Janice, “scrumptious” is the word!
Charming poem — I love foxes! I once actually saw a fox catch a squirrel for his Sunday brunch. Survival of the fittest . . .
I really like your fox poem!
Love your red fox considering you considering him/her! Scrumptious poem with a scrumptious squirrel.
That’s a fabulous photo! It looks like a painting!! And your poem accompanies it perfectly!
Oh what a cutie that red fox is. And the unfortunate squirrel but red fox needs to eat. The photo is beautiful.
Poor squirrel, and fortunate Fox—Your pic and poem work well together Janice, and I love the casualness in these lines:
“Hunting for dinner
is what foxes do,”
I’m also a big fan of Roald Dahl, thanks!
The song “The Fox” (Pete Seeger) started going through my head after I read your poem. We have particular sympathy for these beautiful predators, I think!
This morning when I brought my dogs out of the house, a rabbit was in our yard. She sat there and stared at us, waiting for us to leave, and I’m like, “Shouldn’t YOU be leaving?” The pandemic seems to have shifted our relationship with wildlife a bit.